It’s day two in Ireland and I am thoroughly enjoying every day since we’ve been here. Every company that we have visited has been incredibly interesting to learn about. The Irish people are personable, welcoming and funny.
I remember when I first landed in Dublin I was just plain tired. That quickly changed because as soon as we got through customs our Ireland CAPA leaders greeted us with such delight. They had a huge smile on their face and took the time to shake each one of our hands. At that moment any thought of being tired quickly escaped because I became excited to meet more Irish people and explore Ireland.
They took us to our bus and even the bus driver was extremely welcoming. He put each of our luggage into the bus and cracked a joke or had a small conversation with each of us. I had only been in Ireland for 20 minutes and I already saw a big difference between Americans and the Irish. The Irish seemed to be much more personable than Americans. Not only did I see this on with our CAPA leaders and the bus driver, but also with every tour guide and site visit presenter. I was also buying groceries at Tesco and after I bought them I was waiting around for my friends. A man dropped a coin and went to pick it up. He said, “Oh I’m going to be rich!”. It was a small gesture but his great big smile and infectious joy would not be so common in a Pittsburgh grocery store during rush hour. There are many people that are friendly and make jokes out of nowhere. We also went to dinner and sat at a table for eight people when there was ten of us. The waitress had to do a lot of rearranging and she seemed stressed out but a couple minutes later she was cracking jokes with us. The Irish people make me realize just how serious Americans can get about small insignificant problems. I’ve only been here a few days but I’ve observed that the Irish truly live life each day and find joy out of the little things.
Our visit to Croke Park showed just how much pride the Irish have for their culture and history. They play some of the oldest sports in history (Gaelic football and hurling) to keep their Irish pride alive. Our tour guide mentioned that 1 in 6 people are a part of a hurling/Gaelic football club. This is something that would be unheard of in America. I can’t imagine my parents being apart of a soccer club. The sports that are played in front of 80,000 people in Croke Park are amateur sports but that meaning in the U.S. is very different than in the Irish Gaelic football and hurling world. These athletes are the best in the world because there is no higher level they advance to. They put so much into these sports, just as much as football, basketball and hockey players do in America– except in Ireland they aren’t paid for this. They each have their own careers and they do not have their names on the back of their shirts. They put in so much hard work just for the fun of it and to support and preserve their Irish culture and history. The players are humble and are just passionate about their sport. It is not for money but for many other benefits, like pride in your culture and fun!
In Dublin, my group is staying at StayCity aparthotels. It’s very nice we have a kitchen and two rooms. Everything was pretty similar to where we stayed in Charlotte at Hyatt Place. Except Hyatt place offered many more extra things including shampoo, conditioner, soap, extra larger towels, face towel, hand towels and you could request many different supplies like cotton balls and a hairdryer. The aparthotel here offers one towel and hand soap. The rooms are also much smaller and there are stairs and extra walking on the outside to get to your room. I believe the lack of extras shows the simplicity that Irish people live. In America, I feel as though we have a lot of extra stuff and seem to expect to have more space.
I really respect how important recycling and the CSR is to Ireland companies. Croke Park has many efforts to reduce waste. 0% of their waste at their stadium goes to the landfill! We also visited FoodCloud, a company that takes surplus food from retailers and gets it to charities. Only have been in Ireland for a few days but it is apparent how important the environment and social issues are to them. I’ve also noticed they are very passionate, hardworking people which I find very similar to the U.S.
Other similarities I saw include that Americans are also very into their sports teams. Growing up in Pittsburgh I always had pride for the city of champions. I have also noticed that both the drivers in Ireland are aggressive just like Americans.
I have learned so much about my self and American culture by learning more about the Irish culture. I realize Americans can take things too seriously sometimes. It’s ok to have fun at work and it’s a better life to not let the small things get to you.